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Second phase in moving towards 20-year rule

Thursday 15 January 2015

‘Houses of Parliament’, illustration, Tom Browne (COPY 1/208A (182k))

On 1 January 2015, the second phase of the government’s move towards releasing records selected for permanent preservation when they are 20 years old, instead of 30, came into effect. The second transition order was signed and laid in Parliament by Simon Hughes, the Minister responsible.

We will continue to work with government departments to speed up the process of transferring records. The records for two years will be due for transfer each year over a ten-year transition period. This means that during 2015 local places of deposit should receive records from 1985 and 1986. Then, two further years’ worth of records of local interest will be transferred each year until 2025 when records from 2005 will have been received.

The Ministry of Justice will provide funding of £7.1m over 10 years to offset the implications to local authorities. This will be routed through The National Archives and will be apportioned in relation to the volume of the public records acquisitions taken in by places of deposit in the previous year, beginning in 2016.

In support of the new arrangements, creating bodies will be provided with training and guidance. We will be running a series of training sessions across England and Wales for staff in the creating bodies from the end of January 2015, on the standards expected for the transfer of records. Staff from local places of deposit will be present at the training, and we are developing a directory which maps creating bodies to place of deposit, and vice versa.